SHARJAH, 21st January, 2026 (WAM) -- The Sharjah Private Education Authority (SPEA) announced the winners of the 31st Sharjah Award for Educational Excellence, which witnessed remarkable participation and widespread interest, reinforcing the award's success in achieving its objectives and promoting a culture of excellence in the educational field and the local community.
The number of users of the award's online portal reached 2,486, who competed diligently in the various judging stages. Fifty outstanding individuals were selected as winners across two main categories: Outstanding Individuals and Outstanding Educational Institutions. In the category of distinguished individuals, (39) students won the Outstanding Student category, namely: (Grade 3: Hawa Sultana Abdulaziz, Afan Aleem Mohammed Aleem Akhtar, Sultan Abdullah Issa Ibrahim Al Mazmi. Grade 4: Mohammed Mubashir Siddiqui Mubashir Ashraf Siddiqui, Sandy Hani Abdul Sattar Mohammed Tawfiq, Adwai Sumit Venugobalan Sumit Kizaki Nilanjali, Araf Davtwar. Grade 5: Dhiyan Jithen Rajan, Hamda Bint Saeed Bin Mohammed Bin Ishaq Al Balushi, Noha Danish. Grade 6: Hamda Ali Imran Al Mutawa Al Shurafa, Minsa Abdulaziz Konat, Hidayah Saleh Saeed Salem Saeed, Sharifa Mohammed Abdullah Yousef Al Hooti, Suha Ammar Al Suwaidan. Grade 7: Areej Bint Samir Bin Yousef Ashmawy, Lamar Mohammed Adel Farouk Zaki, Shatha Fatima Siddiqui. Grade 8: Alia Al Sayed Al Shahat Abdul Shafi Abdul Halim, Satvik Sandeep Sandeep Kanuth, Bhakti Venkatesh Hegde). Vishnupraya Pillai, Lijin Vijaya Devan Pillai. Grade 9: Enaya Danish Zaidi, Danish Naseem Zaidi, Jibril Paul Jugnheim, Khwahesh Punjabi, Prashant Anand Punjabi, Mohamed Elsayed Elshahat Abdelshafi Abdelhalim. Grade 10: Abdelkarim Esmat Essam Ghazal, Aisha Abdullah Saif Mohamed Al-Humaidi, Sarah Jassim Saeed Rashid Al-Suraidi, Sanvika Sandeep Sandeep Kanuth, Afshan Nawaz Khan Nawaz Khan, Prahan Prabhu Prabhu Manikam Natarajan. Grade 11: Maryam Younis Abdulrahman Mohamed Al-Feel, Khadija Luay Ibrahim Labad, Srihari Deebu Nair, Shatha Abdullatif Jaber Abdullatif Al-Jiyar. Grade 12: Sainat Manikandan. In the Outstanding Student category for students with special needs, the winners were: Suleiman Khamis Suleiman Al-Khadim Al-Antali and Aisha Khalid Ali Thani Al-Shamsi.
In the Outstanding Teacher category, Dana Kamal Mohammed Abduljabbar won first place, and Hanan Mahmoud Moussa Buwadi won second place. Fatima Ismail Mohammed Al-Sarairah won in the Outstanding Support Staff category. The Outstanding Parent Award was given to: Vijaya Rohini Ravi Jayakumar in first place, Yasmin Marwan Zahra in second place, and Moza Mubarak Obaid Ahmed Al-Zahmi in third place.
In the Outstanding Educational Institutions category, the Outstanding Nursery Award went to the General Directorate of the Amiri Guard Nursery in first place, and Jumana Bint Abi Talib Nursery in second place. The Outstanding School Award was given to the Applied Technology Schools - Fujairah - Boys' School in first place, and Al-Tumooh School in second place. The Outstanding Educational Support Institutions and Partnerships Award was given to the International Protection Centre of the General Directorate of Drug Control, Dubai Police General Headquarters.
On this occasion, Dr Muhadditha Al Hashimi, Chairperson of SPEA, expressed her gratitude and appreciation to all those involved in the award, praising the efforts of the judging committees and the team. She emphasised that the award contributes to supporting excellence and distinction in the educational field and enhancing the quality of educational practices.
Ali Al Hosani, Director-General of SPEA, expressed his pride in the level demonstrated by the entries in this year's cycle. He affirmed that the participants' adherence to the award's criteria reflects the educational field's commitment to continuous development and fostering a culture of excellence.
In turn, Alia Al Hosani, Director of the Sharjah Award for Educational Excellence, affirmed the award's commitment to supporting outstanding individuals in the educational field and the local community, harnessing all available resources to enhance their excellence, improve their participation, and empower them to meet the highest standards of distinction. The winners will be honored at an official ceremony on Sunday, February 15, 2026, in celebration of their achievements and in recognition of their efforts and pursuit of excellence and innovation.